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Sesotho Address Forms* Sesotho Address Forms* Dele Femi Akindele (University of Botswana, Gaborone) Abstract Address forms constitute an integral part of Basotho sociolinguistic etiquette. They are regarded as a kind of emotional capital that may be invested in putting others at ease. They are indicators of deference, politeness and markers of social distance. (Fasold 1990, Akindele 1990, 1991, 1993) This paper examines the address forms used by the Basotho people. It analyzes and discusses the various types and the factors determining their use. The discussion of address forms in Sesotho focuses on First Name, Title plus First Name, Title plus Last Name, Nickname, Multiple Names, and Teknonym. Drawing data from semi-literate and literate urban and rural population of Maseru district of Lesotho, it was found that the commonest form of address used by the Basotho people is title plus first name. e.g. ntate Thabo (father Thabo), 'm'e Puleng (mother Puleng), ausi Maneo (sister Maneo), abuti Mahao (brother Mahao). It is used by close relations, associates, and familiar people in both formal and informal situations. 1 Introduction Terms of address are important linguistic mechanisms by which a speaker's attitude toward, and interpretation of his or her relationship with, a speaker is reflected. Inappropriate choice of the address hinders good communication between the speaker and the hearer. The importance of address forms cannot be overestimated in the use of language in any human society. They serve as an indicator of the social relationship between a speaker and a listener in terms of status and social distance. They are a kind of emotional capital, which may be invested in putting others at ease, and a means of saving one's 'face' (Brown/Levinson, 1978: 126). Goffman (1964: 474) wrote "the rules of the conduct constitute part of the etiquette of the group and impose on each member an obligation to conduct themselves in a particular way towards others." Address and reference terms form part of such a practice. They are informed by rules of conduct and are an integral aspect of everyday interaction and conversational events that serve as a prelude to the establishment of social relations. Although address terms do not contribute to the content of discourse, they help mark different openings of boundaries of interactions. It is in the light of the significance of this aspect of sociolinguistic etiquette that Linguists and Sociologists give attention to the study of address forms in various cultures. See for example, (Brown/Ford 1964, Brown/Gilman 1962, Ervin-Tripp 1972, Paulston 1975, Blocker 1976, Fang/Hang 1983, Scotton/Zhu 1983, Mehrotra 1982, Fasold 1990, Akindele 1992, 1993), among others. There is a paucity of literature on Sesotho forms of address except for their uses in literary genres. Nevertheless, an exploration of various forms of address in Sesotho may help in * I am grateful to Professor Francina Moloi, Department of English, National University of Lesotho for her extensive and valuable comments on the paper and colleagues at the 9th Conference of the Linguistics Association of SADC Universities, University of Mauritius, August 5–8, 2005. Linguistik online 34, 2/08 4 Linguistik online 34, 2/08 understanding the culture of the people and also in knowing the reason why the people behave the way they do in an encounter with others in different situations. The address terms examined in this paper are limited to names only. Pronouns and other forms were not included. It would constitute another subject for future research. 2 Overview of address forms Several research works have been carried out on address terms particularly in American English and in some European languages. Notable among these studies are those of Brown/Ford (1961), Brown/Gilman (1972), Ervin-Tripp (1972), Lambert/Turker (1976), Blocker (1976), Fang/Heng (1983), Scotton/Zhu (1983), and Mehrotra (1982). There are also some studies of address terms done among some African cultures Soyoye (1984) and Akindele (1991, 1992), Salami (2004). Studies on address forms indicate that they are really a part of complete semantic systems having to do with social relationships (Salami 2004). Many other devices are used for the expression of social relationships apart from addressing by name and second person pronouns. These include kin terms such as father, mother, brother, sister, uncle, niece, and cousin. The person with the higher occupational status also has the privilege of being addressed with title plus last name (TLN) while addressing the other person with first name (FN). However, Brown/Ford (1961: 460) argue that it is not always the case that older people have higher occupational status than younger ones. For instance, if there is a conflict between a young executive and an older janitor, it will be occupational status that takes precedence; that is, the janitor will be called by FN and he will address the executive by TLN (Brown/ Ford 1961: 458). Brown/Ford (1961: 459) also noticed that there was a natural progression from TLN to non- reciprocal TLN to mutual FN in American English address. That is, two people might start out calling each other by TLN then the other or higher status person might begin calling the other by FN and later they might use mutual FN. They also observe that once a speaker has begun using FN, he will never use TLN again with the same addressee except he uses the address form to express anger or reproof. In other words, if people are very angry enough with someone they usually address with FN, they might withdraw to TLN to symbolize the disruption of the relationship. When the issue that caused the trouble is resolved, they return to FN. This is not necessarily so in some African cultures. For instance, Akindele (1991: 17) observes that it does not seem that when a speaker has begun using FN e.g. Modupe in Yoruba address, he will never use TLN such as Ms Benson again with the same addressee even when there is no quarrel between them. There could be instances when intimate friends who used to address each other with FN would use TLN e.g. Professor Taiwo or a Teknonym (TKM) such as baba Ayodele [father of Ayodele], Ayodele's father as a mark of deference in a social context. It seems necessary at this point to explain the concept of TKM, Teknonym because of its constant use in this study. Teknonym can be described as a special category of names of the construct characterized by the combination of father or mother plus the personal name (F/MPN) of a child. It may also have such variations as Baba Ibadan (Ibadan father) which suggests an elderly male person who hails from Ibadan or who lived in the city of Ibadan for a long period of time. Others are named or addressed after the place they lived in by someone or where one carries out one's daily business activities, as in Mama Eko (Mom who lives in Lagos), Mama Gbagi (Mummy who trades at Gbagi), Buroda Ikoyi (Senior brother who lives or works in Ikoyi Lagos). Teknonyms may also involve the addition of the names of the profession of one's child e.g. Baba doctor – Doctor's father, and the like (Akindele 1993: 89– ISSN 1615-3014 Dele Femi Akindele: Sesotho Address Forms 5 90). Typically, teknonym is used in informal contexts by spouses who prefer it to FN as an address term if they have children (Salami 2004). Married couples prefer addressing each other with teknonyms rather than FN. Brown/Ford (1961) discovered in their study of American address form, the use of Multiple Names (MN) such as Brian James Trennepohl. This occurs when people who have become close friends find out that the exclusive use of mutual FN, Brian, for example, no longer seems enough to symbolize friendship. In this case, they will address each other with MN. That is, they will sometimes use TLN, Mr. Trennepohl; sometimes FN (Brian) or LN (Trennepohl) or a nickname (NN), Bobby (Brown/Ford 1961: 450). These address forms are not used to express anger: they are used in more or less free variation; and the person who uses MN need not be reciprocal. Leeds-Hurwitz (1980) study also highlights the use of MN. She reports how a woman who had just been promoted to a somewhat ambiguous position in a business concern used non- reciprocal MN to help her carve out her place in the institutional hierarchy. The use of MN form of address is discernible in Yoruba in modern times. For instance, some of my close friends sometimes address me as Femi (FN), Dr. Akindele (TLN) and at times Akindele (LN). When they do so, such address terms are not used to express anger; rather it is believed that it is done out of intimacy and mutual relationship. Such address terms are very often non- reciprocal. Ervin-Tripp (1972) in her research on address terms based on American academic community located in the West observes that speakers who are on reasonably close terms with the addressee use some form of TLN. This agrees with Brown/Ford's (1964) and Fasold's (1990) observations of the use of address terms in American English. This is also observable in Yoruba use of address term e.g. Ogbeni Taiwo (Mr Taiwo). One other form of address term found in American English is a nickname. That is, name used informally instead of one's own name. This is usually given because of one's character or as a short form of the actual name. It is said to be a non-reciprocal form of address. Such an address form is found in Yoruba use of address, for instance; Femi (Olufemi).
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